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CHEM 632: Chemistry Education

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Learning Outcomes

  • Identify theories of chemistry education from reviews and references sources 

  • Find original research by chemistry education theorists using the library catalog

  • Use citation tracking in Google Scholar to find studies that have cited a particular theory

What Is Information Literacy?

Information literacy is the set of integrated abilities encompassing the reflective discovery of information, the understanding of how information is produced and valued, and the use of information in creating new knowledge and participating ethically in communities of learning.

Association of College and Research Libraries. (2016). Framework for information literacy for higher education. https://www.ala.org/acrl/standards/ilframework

Think, Pair, Share: Review the information literacy examples by category below. Discuss with someone next to you: 

  • What information literacy concept do you think will be most important for your chemistry students to know? 
  • What is one way you could teach information literacy to your students? 

Information Literacy Examples

  • Define different types of authority in the sciences, including scholarship, societal position, or special experience, including those not as often acknowledged outside of traditional Western systems
  • Correctly cite others’ work and build on research practices from experts in the field while also developing their own authority within the discipline
  • Describe the traditional and emerging processes of information creation and dissemination in STEM disciplines
  • Articulate the capabilities and constraints of information developed through various creation processes
  • Give credit to the original ideas of others through proper attribution and citation, including non-traditional formats such as social media, code, data sets, government information, and etc.
  • Articulate the purpose and distinguishing characteristics of copyright, fair use, open access, and the public domain within the sciences
  • Recognize that the scientific consensus is based on existing evidence which may change over time
  • Seek multiple perspectives during information gathering and assessment, including those from non-dominant or non-Western traditions, including ethical, global, economic, environmental, and social perspectives
  • Follow the scholarly conversation through time by properly citing the contribution of others in their own work and new scholarly products
  • Identify the contribution that particular articles, books, and other scholarly pieces make to disciplinary knowledge, whether those are foundational paradigm shifts or incremental advances
  • Understand how information systems are organized in order to access relevant information
  • Design and refine needs and search strategies as necessary, based on search results

Following a Scholarly Conversation with Citation Tracking

A paper icon article, B paper icon references, C paper icon cited by.

  1. Start with a review or reference article about chemistry education theories. Identify a specific educational theory.
  2. Find the original book or article from the theorist describing that theory in the library's catalog. 
  3. Then, look for studies that have applied that learning theory. Go to Google Scholar and find how many times article/book B has been cited. You can click on this number, see a list of all cited by articles, and "search within" the list to find a study that has cited your educational theory.

 

Google Scholar search for Novak Learning, Creating, and Using Knowledge with cited by 5,146 highlighted.

Activity: Follow the Theory

Directions: Practice citation tracking of an educational theory on your own!

Part 1: Find a reference to an original education theory: 

What was the original theory source? Could you find access to it through the library? 

Part 2: Search for the original theory book/article in Google Scholar. 

How many times has it been cited? 

Part 3: Click on the cited by link and search within the results to find a relevant study that cites the theory.  

Could you find a quantitative, empirical study of chemistry student assessment using the theory? 

Post-workshop survey

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